The present invention relates to storage containers for pills, tablets and the like and more particularly to a device of this general character which is also capable of storing individualized dosages of such consumables.
A variety of devices have been known heretofore for storing medicinal, vitamin and similar pills, tablets, capsules, etc. and for dispensing such container contents, usually one at a time. U.S. Pat. No. 2,886,208, granted May 12, 1959 to H. J. Sinclair, for example discloses a representative device of this type in which pills are metered past a dispenser for discharge one at a time. U.S. Pat. No. 2,953,242, granted Sept. 20, 1960 discloses a container for pills, tablets and the like for making available such articles in prescribed dosage quantities and at desigated times. The device comprises a container having a plurality of compartments and a pair of superimposed discs each of which is rotatable relative to the container and to each other. Apertures are provided in the discs which are alignable to permit removal of the pills from the container compartments selectively. U.S. Pat. No. 3,446,179, granted May 27, 1969 to S. Bender, discloses a dosage time indicator closure for a bottle such as a medicine bottle. The closure includes an auxilliary pill-holding compartment and a separate cover for such compartment. The cover is provided with indicating means thereon which is cooperable with time indicia carried by a shoulder on the pill-receiving portion to afford a visual record of when the dosage of pills within the auxilliary compartment is to be consumed.
The prior devices of the types discussed are generally structurally complex, hence relatively expensive to manufacture and, therefore, limiting their acceptance by the public. Additionally, as in the case of the device shown in the Bender patent, the closure cap is fabricated in two or more sections which must be physically separated before access to the prescribed dosage of pills can be gained. Since the containers are destined for use frequently with aged or infirm persons it is not uncommon for one of the closure cap sections to be misplaced temporarily or lost thereby negating much of the utility of such devices.